The present invention relates generally to electronic communications, and more specifically to the use of location based information in communications networks.
GPS receivers and other location determination technology have advanced rapidly over the past few years. In addition, the chipsets associated with this location technology have gotten much smaller and less costly, with stamp size receivers becoming far more common. Certain applications for this location based information are only now becoming possible and, thus, leveraging the size and cost improvements is only in the nascent stages. Communication networks, relational databases and computer systems represent other areas that have also seen significant advancement in speed, price, and size. There are considerable opportunities for integration of location determination technology with these different systems to provide new functionality.
There are a variety of problems for which location verification technology could be used which may not be apparent at first glance. For example, credit and other financial card fraud is a significant problem. Many attempts have been made to address these issues, with varying degrees of success. However, with the rise of the Internet and the improvements in communication, new fraud schemes are being created and evolving. Often, the financial card information is fraudulently used for a transaction at a different place than the physical location of the legitimate card holder. There is, thus, need in the art to better leverage location based technology to verify users and authorize transactions of such financial cards.
Phishing is another fraud currently on the rise. Phishing is the act of sending an email to a user, wherein the sender falsely claims to be a financial company or other organization. The e-mail directs the user to visit a website where he or she is asked to update personal information, such as passwords, account numbers, credit cards, and social security numbers, that the legitimate organization already has. The website, however, is merely set up to defraud the unwary visitor into surrendering private information. Often, the personal information is fraudulently used at a different location than the legitimate user. There is, thus, need in the art to better leverage location based technology to verify and authenticate potential victims of Phishing and other such fraud schemes.
As mobile communication devices have proliferated, issues related to the reporting and request of emergency services have grown. A Public Safety Answering Point (“PSAP”) is an entity authorized to receive and respond to emergency calls in a local area. As mobile telephone service expanded, the difficulty with routing calls to the proper PSAP became a bigger issue. Enhanced 911 (E911) provides the ability to selectively route calls to the proper PSAP based on the location of a caller. This is accomplished through the use of an Automatic Location Identification (“ALI”) database. However, as the number and variety of data communication devices have multiplied, there is an increasing need in the art to leverage location based technology to provide improved information and service to both emergency providers and users.
The Internet has spawned an exponential increase in electronic communications, but with this change there has also been a significant growth in unwanted communications. SPAM (mass e-mail), SPIM (mass electronic messaging), and SPIT (mass Internet telephony) are prime examples of such unwanted communications. One reason for the proliferation of such unsolicited messages is the anonymity associated with electronic communications. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the location of the sender is often unknown. There is, thus, a need in the art to leverage location based technology to verify the originating location of certain senders to limit such unwanted communications.